Making shiplap for a wall - kerf on back? And other questions, too.

[Brian W Evans]

I am taking on a project to mill and install shiplap ash on the walls and ceiling of a small home office. I watched some videos about this and a few recommended putting a couple of saw kerfs lengthwise on the back of each board to help minimize warping/twisting. What are your thoughts on this? If I do this, how deep should they be?

I will be using 4/4 KD ash that I will mill down to 3/4 - 7/8" from rough, depending on the quality of the material I get. Shiplap will be cut using a dado stack.

The space will be climate controlled and dry. The shiplap will be installed over drywall.

Other questions for you:

I plan to use a nail gun to shoot through the tongue(?) of the boards so there won't be visible nail holes. The owner wants to mount computer monitors and possibly a TV to the shiplap. It will be difficult to locate the studs through the shiplap and drywall, so they will probably expect the shiplap to hold everything up by itself. I don't feel that 16ga nails shot through 3/8" of ash and 1/2" of drywall will be strong enough for this. What are my best alternatives?

How do I extend outlet boxes, switch boxes, etc. out through the drywall and 3/4" of shiplap?

They are considering having me build a desk out of ash as well. I would like to have a very smooth, hard surface for the top. I will be finishing with target coatings em6000, probably with the crosslinker added. What is the best way to fill the grain?

TIA for any suggestions.

[Bill Dufour]

They make box extenders that simply screw onto the existing boxes. Or I have cut a deeper box on the bandsaw to be flush. No reason not to cut a full box and make 2-3 extenders from one box.
The extenders do not require the wiring to be touched.
Bill D
https://www.lowes.com/pd/ReceptXtend...-Box/999978308

[Brian W Evans]

They make box extenders that simply screw onto the existing boxes. Or I have cut a deeper box on the bandsaw to be flush. No reason not to cut a full box and make 2-3 extenders from one box.
The extenders do not require the wiring to be touched.
Bill D
https://www.lowes.com/pd/ReceptXtend...-Box/999978308

Thanks, Bill.

[Paul F Franklin]

If you know roughly where the monitors/TV will be, I'd cut out a section(s) of the sheetrock and install strips of plywood to provide solid backing for mounting the equipment. You can make them as wide and as long as needed to ensure good backing. While you're at it, you can install some feedthrough boxes to allow feeding power and signals to the equipment without having cables hanging down the walls.

[Wes Grass]

If you know roughly where the monitors/TV will be, I'd cut out a section(s) of the sheetrock and install strips of plywood to provide solid backing for mounting the equipment.

I like this ^

My gut feeling is small nails thru the tongue is going to result in it being a cosmetic panel at best.

I tried cedar shiplap in my bathroom. It was cupped and was going to be a nightmare to trim out. I kinda liked the look at first. I used stainless siding nails, and the small heads on them wouldn't hold it flat, they just sunk into the wood. Video's I've seen suggest using real nails with big heads, and get a 'Farmhouse' look from it.

I considered starting over, milling the wood myself, and using 16d galvanized nails. But decided to tear it out and drywall instead. Never thought of kerfing it on the back.

So there's an option, big exposed nails. And finding the studs shouldn't be too difficult. You can mark up, and even drive nails thru to verify, and all the 'damage' will be covered up.

[David Lageman]

Although I didn't mill it myself, I just put up a shiplap wall in my daughter's new condo. The premade version of kerfing was shallow channels on the back side, akin to what you might see on the back of a base molding. May not work on a "clients" house, but on her wall I used liquid nails and then caught the studs with a nail gun at the top of the tongue. The next board covers the nail so no holes visible when completed.

I used the plug extenders linked above but make sure you get the correct size for your material - they sell them in different thicknesses. They bring the plug out to the shiplap. Throw a new faceplate on it and it turned out great.

As to mounting, I would highly recommend what Paul suggested and install some backing and install a cable access and new outlet located behind the TV. It creates a much cleaner look with no visible wires. Although I think the wall I installed would likely hold a TV, because the of the glue/nail combo, I ended up using some heavy duty Toggler anchors to mount the TV bracket. Again, my client was my daughter so I was able to cheat a little but the correct way to do it would have been to install backer board, at least in my opinion.

[Richard Verwoest]

You could also draw a quick diagram of where the studs are located before adding the shiplap. Pencil, paper, stud finder and done.

[lowell holmes]

Why don`t you experiment using scrap wood to answer your question? I bet you can come up with it in an afternoon.

[Erik Loza]

The A&D company I did a stint with offered shiplap cladding as one of its product lines. As others have said, you definitely want to go through the studs, not the cladding. No way that cladding alone will hold any amount of weight. Many times, we had to explain stuff like this to the architect (vis-a-vis, the homeowner) since they just saw it on pinterest and the wife says, "I want it". My recollection is that ash can be pretty brittle. I always advised the architects to budget for 20%, if not 30% waste. Good luck with your project.

Erik

[Brian W Evans]

If you know roughly where the monitors/TV will be, I'd cut out a section(s) of the sheetrock and install strips of plywood to provide solid backing for mounting the equipment. You can make them as wide and as long as needed to ensure good backing. While you're at it, you can install some feedthrough boxes to allow feeding power and signals to the equipment without having cables hanging down the walls.

Thanks, Paul. I like this idea. The likely mounting areas are probably between 48" and 72" above the floor, so I can just put a strip of ply at that height all the way around. Easy. Maybe I'll even put some blocking behind the ply to really make it sturdy.

[Brian W Evans]

As to mounting, I would highly recommend what Paul suggested and install some backing and install a cable access and new outlet located behind the TV. It creates a much cleaner look with no visible wires.

Good advice, David. This is the plan already since the client wants a very clean look in this space. I will be running ethernet cable to a few locations in the room and the electrician will rough in the outlet and switch boxes in likely areas as well.

[Brian W Evans]

Why don`t you experiment using scrap wood to answer your question? I bet you can come up with it in an afternoon.

Always good advice, Lowell, but I'm asking here first because shiplap is not new and someone must have encountered similar issues before. I'm hoping to save some time and benefit from others' experience.

[Brian W Evans]

The A&D company I did a stint with offered shiplap cladding as one of its product lines. As others have said, you definitely want to go through the studs, not the cladding. No way that cladding alone will hold any amount of weight. Many times, we had to explain stuff like this to the architect (vis-a-vis, the homeowner) since they just saw it on pinterest and the wife says, "I want it". My recollection is that ash can be pretty brittle. I always advised the architects to budget for 20%, if not 30% waste. Good luck with your project.

Erik

Thanks, Erik. The studs are definitely my targets for the nails - I wouldn't depend on drywall to hold anything. I have worked with ash several times before and haven't had any trouble with brittleness. I'm in New England and I will be using white ash - maybe there's a different species down south?

[Brian W Evans]

My current thinking is that I will experiment with screws into the studs in a few places. I will counterbore the holes and cut plugs to hide the screws. This will make the shiplap extremely difficult to remove, but that's sort of the point.

I really can't do nails through the faces since the client wants a clear finish over bare wood and doesn't want to see nails or filler.

Any thoughts on the kerfs?

[Bradley Gray]

I would suggest making spline and groove instead of shiplap.Simpler to make and install. I have done several projects this way.

I would also suggest horizontal furring 32" OC screwed to the studs. Then screw the paneling to these strips.

Hang anything anywhere.